RESTEK LUNCH & LEARN

In the chromatography world, a faster run time can easily be equated to improved productivity for your laboratory. How would you like even faster times on both GC and LC for emerging contaminants? Recent developments at Restek for some common challenging environmental samples will be presented by our environmental application experts.

We will present LC-MS/MS applications for PFAS (perfluoroalkyl substances) and PPCP (pharmaceuticals and personal care products) that are faster than published methods.

Are you more of a GC person? Part II will address how to speed up your GC analyses with our free, web-based EZGC method translator and our new GC Accelerator oven insert kit.

By the end of our seminar, you’ll be equipped with the knowledge you need to run your methods faster regardless of your instrument choice, GC or LC. Who said there is no free lunch? There is one, and we’ll prove it.

Designed with GC-MS users in mind, the GC Accelerator kit provides a simple way to speed up sample analysis. By reducing oven volume, these inserts allow faster ramp rates to be attained, which reduces oven cycle time and allows for increased sample throughput and more capacity to process rush samples. When faster ramp rates are used, existing methods can be accurately scaled down to smaller, high-efficiency, narrow-bore columns using Restek’s EZGC method translator. With a scaled-down column, a properly translated method, and a GC Accelerator kit, you can obtain the same chromatographic separation—often with greater sensitivity—in a fraction of the time without making a capital investment.

Since the beginning of the U.S. EPA Underground Storage Tank (UST) program, nearly 2 million substandard tanks and fuel transportation systems have been closed. During that same time period, over 500,000 fuel releases were reported [1]. While the federal government characterizes total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) using EPA Method 8015D, individual states have developed methods for determining toxicity of fuels by separating the more toxic aromatics from the less toxic aliphatic hydrocarbons. One of the earliest of these methods was devised by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. This approach can provide detailed analysis and quantification of both aliphatic and aromatic fractions from site samples of water or soil/sediment matrices [2]. States that have published methods using fractionation are challenged with proper elution of these petroleum products. The 5-gram silica gel cartridge specified in these methods needs to achieve adequate separation of the two fractions with minimal interferences.

This work demonstrates a tuned EPH specific silica gel cartridge used to carry out this critical fractionation step. Several key attributes, such as minimal background extractables, maximum resolving power of aliphatic from aromatic components, and consistent moisture control will be evaluated for their effects on performance. Optimized method-specific chromatograms will also be presented.

References:
[1] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Environmental Economics, Prevention, Cleanup, and Reuse Benefits from the Federal UST Program, Working Paper # 14-05, November 2014.
[2] Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Environmental Analysis, Office of Research and Standards, Bureau of Waste Site Cleanup, Method for the Determination of Extractable Petroleum Hydrocarbons (EPH) Revision 1.1, May 2004

Superficially porous particles (SPP) have been proven to provide fast and efficient separations with lower back pressures. By decreasing particle size, SPP particles offer even more efficiency than traditional fully porous particles of the same size. In this presentation, we will look at two environmental analyses where speed, sensitivity, and selectivity are of importance.

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) encompass a family of compounds used by individuals for health and cosmetic purposes; however, it is difficult to eliminate the presence of these residues from water. Monitoring for the presence of PPCPs in drinking water has become of great interest due to their potential impact on human health. An optimized chromatogram for 41 PPCPs was developed using a Raptor 1.8 μm Biphenyl column and a total analysis time of 5 min.

Perfluorinated compounds are of concern due to their potential health effects and their persistence in the environment. In the first study, we analyzed the 20 target perfluorinated alkyl acids listed in EPA 537 method. By utilizing a Raptor 5 μm C18 column, we obtained a total cycle time of 9 minutes, resulting in a three-fold faster analysis time than the EPA method. In an attempt to expand the analyte list of concern and decrease analysis time still further, we analyzed 41 perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) on Raptor 1.8 μm C18 column and obtained an analysis time of 6.5 min, all with excellent resolution.

The performance of SPP columns will be demonstrated on applications of PPCPs and perfluorinated compounds using LC-MS/MS. The advantages of superficially porous particles will be demonstrated in the fast analysis of both PPCPs and PFCs, with both excellent peak shapes and separations.

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